


Accidental Meetings

by mooseholmes



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: And he's with a guerrilla theater, College AU, Finn's just really in love with him, M/M, Poe works in a coffee shop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-05-11 02:01:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5609638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mooseholmes/pseuds/mooseholmes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>College au where Finn meets Poe at a coffee shop and never stops running into him after that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

                Finn loved the rain. He loved it when it poured, when lightning seemed to light up the entire world, when the thunder was loud enough to rattle the core of his bones. He loved racing raindrops on window panes when the skies turned gray. He just loved the rain.

                He did not, however, like anything about the rain when the paper he had been working on for three days was getting soaked by a sudden downpour.

                Running down the street, Finn ducked inside a coffee shop. He groaned as he shook himself off, water cascading onto the floor and anyone who happened to be standing too close. The seemingly harmless rain had turned into a freaking flood – Finn’s paper was due in 45 minutes and he wasn’t going anywhere for a good long while. Professor Phasma, while an excellent instructor, was unrelenting and gave a leeway of exactly one second after the due date/time. He sensed the pout he felt in his soul expressing itself on his face.

                Might as well get something to drink while he was here.

                There were more than a few college students ahead of him in line – Finn had a good long while to figure out what he wanted. He also, incidentally, had a good long time to get a good look at the cashier. The cashier, who happened to have great hair. And great eyes. And great _everything_ , good God he was _gorgeous_. Finn almost fell over from leaning over too far to look at him. He was at too great of a distance to read his name tag, but after he smiled at something a customer had said, Finn didn’t care. The line shortened all too quickly and Finn found himself staring at the guy face-to-face all too soon.

                He blinked rapidly as whatever the dude was saying flew right over his head and landed on the person behind him. The cashier looked at him expectantly and Finn sputtered when he realized he had been spoken to for the past minute.

                “Um, yeah, I’ll get a small vanilla caramel expresso no who am I kidding I don’t even drink coffee, do you have hot chocolate? I’ll take a hot chocolate if you’ve got one, cause you might not since this is a coffee shop after all but maybe you do? There’s some coffee shops around that don’t carry hot chocolate for some reason and that always bothers me, but whatever, whatever’s cool.” He was rambling, that never turned out well.

                The cashier laughed. “Yeah, we serve hot chocolate here, don’t worry about it buddy. I’m taking it that that’s all for you?” Finn nodded, not trusting himself after experiencing a view of the most gorgeous jawline he had ever seen.

                “Alright, $3.03 it is. What did you say your name was?”

                Finn turned his pockets inside-out, managed to find a 5 dollar bill, and forked it over. “Finn.”

                “Finn. That sounds good. I’m Poe, Poe Dameron. You can pick up your order to the left, Finn.”

                “Thanks…Poe.” Finn flashed him what he thought was a seductive smile, one that broadened into a full-blown grin when he saw Poe blush and look down as he laughed. When he got his drink a few minutes later, Finn realized the rain had let up. He checked the clock on the wall and ran out the door to turn in his paper in the ten minutes left before the deadline.

                It was only later that he noticed a hastily scrawled “Nice to meet you Finn :)” on his cup.


	2. Chapter 2

Two days, 3 hours, and 45 minutes.

                That’s how long it had been since Finn had first seen Poe Dameron (not that he would ever admit that he was counting) at BB-8’s Coffee. He’d tried going back to the coffee shop between classes, but he never managed to arrive during Poe’s shift. A small, wrinkly old woman (Ms. Kanata, Finn learned on his second trip) had taken his order, and by Finn’s fifth hot chocolate, they both agreed that there was enough sugar in his system. He’d ended up telling Kanata his mission, and she’d told him Mondays and Fridays were when Poe came in.

                Unfortunately for Finn, it was a Wednesday and that meant two things: 1) no Poe and 2) he’d have to pick Rey up from the gym for their weekly dinner “date” soon. Not that he had a car or any other means of transportation other than his feet, but still, it was the thought that counted. After Rey had joined the First Order University Women’s Rugby Team during their second year, Finn had seen less and less of his best friend, so they had agreed to have dinner together every Wednesday to catch each other up on their livelihoods. It was nice – Rey would tell Finn about whatever new rugby moves she’d learned and Finn would complain to Rey about all the crap Phasma had put them through that week. They talked on the phone almost every day, but it was still a relief to see each other face to face every now and then.

                The captain of the Men’s Rugby Team, Kylo Ren, also happened to be the coach of the Women’s Rugby Team (no one knew how that worked, they all just went with it – Kylo was scary enough to look at as it was), and the schedule he put both teams under was rigorous and merciless. Four hour evening practice plus a two hour “light” practice in the morning every day except Wednesdays (gym days) and Sundays. Rey was practically dead on her feet whenever Finn saw her, but she wasn’t captain of her team for nothing and she pushed through it all resiliently. Finn didn’t know anyone stronger than her with the exception of her co-captain, Jessika Pava, who could (and probably would) kick Finn into the next galaxy.

                Finn sighed and put the book he’d been reading. Trying to read, at least. Professor Snoke’s history class was interesting in very few aspects, and the books he assigned had fewer. If the class wasn’t mandatory, he wouldn’t even go down the hall. He leaned back and checked the time – 5:45. He usually met Rey at 6:30, but Finn didn’t mind waiting. There was always more than a few someones lifting weights who were worth looking at anyways. He grabbed his jacket and headed out, pausing briefly to pick up his room key and wallet before shutting the door.

                BB-8’s Coffee was on the way to FOU’s gym, but Ms. Kanata shook her head and waved Finn off as soon as he stepped through the door. Throwing her a sheepish smile and a wave of thanks, Finn made his way to the gym and swung the door open. His eyes roamed the wide floor, full of intimidating machines and even more intimidating (and considerably sweaty) people, until he spotted Rey bench-pressing weights with Pava in the back corner. Jessika caught his eye and said something to Rey, who carefully set the barbell down and sat up, waving to Finn as soon as she saw him. Finn waved and motioned to the waiting chairs the gym had for some reason unknown to Finn or most anyone who came in. Rey gave him a thumbs-up and went back to her workout regime, switching with Jessika on the barbell.

                6:05. Finn sat back and made himself comfortable. He’d brought the godawful book along, but there were too many bodies around to pay it any attention. Throwing an arm over the back of the chair next to him, Finn took the opportunity to peruse the people exercising on the machines before him. There were arm muscles rippling as they lifted extremely heavy-looking weights, calves that seemed like they had balls of lead in them, abs that made Finn’s heart have troubles, glorious wavy hair on the treadmill…

                Wait.

                Finn’s eyes swiveled back to the perfect hair bouncing softly on the treadmill. It took some effort to break away from the beautiful tresses, but the moment he did he almost stopped breathing ‘cause _good lord Poe Dameron was running shirtless on the treadmill closest to him_. Finn let out a strangled squawk and scrambled frantically in his chair, contemplating what to do. He still had a good 20 minutes until Rey would be done, what the hell was he supposed to do until then?

                He peaked over for a brief second, eyeing Poe. He was chatting amiably with the guy next to him – Snap Something, Finn thought – while going at what looked to Finn like 30 miles an hour. He had the handsomest side profile Finn had ever seen and it was punctuated with the brief laughs Poe let out whenever Snap said something particularly funny. Finn looked back down. He couldn’t just _stare_ at him for the rest of the time…could he? The instant Finn finds the most gorgeous guy in the entire state again, of course he can’t handle himself.

                “Finn, are you alright?”

                Finn looked up and was never happier to see Rey in his entire life. He nodded vigorously, a smile cutting across his face. “Never better, actually! Are you done already? How’d Ren let you off early?”

                “Change of heart, I guess. Heard he’s got a date, though I wouldn’t want to meet the unfortunate soul who finds an interest in that douchebag. Are you sure you’re alright? You look red,” Rey asked, wiping her face off with her towel.

                “I tell you about at dinner, okay? Now hurry up and get changed, you stink like Phasma’s left foot.” Finn shooed her off to the changing room, and Rey left with an amused yet puzzled look on her face.

                Finn let out the tiniest sigh of relief and looked back to where Poe had been to find him off the treadmill and headed towards the changing room. Towards Finn. Finn was speechless when Poe looked up and the two made eye contact. He saw Poe’s eyes widen with recognition, and Finn’s heart soared out his mouth and back down the street when a full-blown grin took over Poe’s face as he walked towards him.

                “Finn, buddy! How’ve you been?”

                Finn shakily got to his feet and found himself almost half an arm’s length away from the man. “Poe! Hey, yeah, good good everything’s good, everything’s _great_ yes.” He knew he was rambling, but looking at Poe across from a counter was nothing compared to gazing at him up close and personal.

                Poe laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Good to see ya, man. Did you enjoy the hot chocolate? I know ours isn’t up to par with the big name brands, but hey, still worth something right?”

                “It was great! Way better than anything I’ve drank before, believe me. I went back for some more, actually, but you weren’t there so it didn’t have the same charm as before.” _Shit did he just flirt with Poe Dameron?_

                Poe grinned, eyes twinkling with something that made Finn hope for a second, and opened his mouth to say something when Rey made her appearance by Finn’s side. “Alright, I smell considerably better than before. Ready to go?”

                Finn had never seen someone’s face drop so quickly before as Poe closed his mouth with considerable force. He looked at Finn then Rey then Finn again before asking, “Oh. Are you her – is she your – are you two-?”

                “NO! I mean,” Finn said, clearing his throat. “No, she’s a friend. Rey, meet Poe Dameron. Poe, meet Rey, my very best FRIEND in the entire world.” Rey side-eyed Finn before smiling and shaking Poe’s hand with a “nice to meet you”.

                “Well, it was incredibly nice to meet you Poe Dameron, but I could literally eat a horse if I could find one right now, so if you don’t mind, I’m going to make this guy buy me some dinner before some poor animal gets it,” Rey said, waving to Poe as she headed towards the door.

                Finn looked at Poe, who had a very wide-eyed look on his face. “Um, duty calls I guess. See you around then?”

                “Yeah,” Poe said, gaze slowly locking into Finn. “Yes. I will definitely see you around, Finn.”

                Finn’s heart jumped at this, and he grinned as he followed Rey to the door. He turned around right before they passed the front-glass to see Poe Dameron biting his lip as he followed Finn with his eyes.

                 Finn had never felt better before in his life.


	3. Chapter 3

     “Rey, I’m telling you he’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen,” Finn sighed. “You saw him yourself, what do you think?”      

     “I think you’re not wrong, but you’re definitely in way too deep with this guy,” Rey said from the other end of the call.

     “He’s so nice too! And when he smiles, it’s the best thing in the world,” Finn said, not hearing Rey at all. He dodged a plant he hadn’t seen on the sidewalk and kept walking. “And today? Today was fantastic Rey, just fantastic.” Rey hummed, happily letting Finn talk.

     It was Friday. Finn had stopped after class to pick up a hot chocolate and a cookie (the food was genuinely good there) and had been “surprised” to find Poe working the counter that day.

     “Finn! What’re you doing here?” Poe had asked.

     “Came for the food this time! A friend of mine told me there were some delicious cookies here, and I could totally go for one right now,” Finn had replied. It wasn’t a complete lie, he _had_ just gone through an exhausting hour with Phasma.

     Poe had grinned and said, “Well hey, it just so happens to be my lunch break and I’m starved. Let me get us some sandwiches.” He winked. “On the house.” Before Finn could say anything, he’d left the counter. Finn had heard a “There’s still a couple of hours until lunch break Poe, what are you - ” followed by a sharp “OW” before Poe appeared, two Cuban sandwiches in his hands and a smile on his face.

     As it turned out, Poe was an engineering student at First Order. He’d originally wanted to become a pilot, but he couldn’t afford it so he’d settled for the next best thing. Alongside BB-8’s Coffee, he worked with an old family friend who repaired cars, planes, boats, anything – you name it, Poe’s probably fixed it. Aside from mechanics and engineering, Poe had a passion for theater, something he developed from his father. He played a few roles with the university’s guerrilla theater, the Resistance, they were performing downtown would Finn like to come and watch?

     “He asked me to watch one of his plays, Rey! That’s practically a date, right?” Finn bubbled, waving at a passing dog in his glee. The owner smiled at him, and Finn’s beam made itself scarce as he walked onward sheepishly. “Oh, he’s a dog person. And his favorite color is orange, which is kind of weird, but hey, every man to his own.”

     Rey laughed. “Indeed, my lovesick friend. Are you gonna go?”

     “Go to what?”

     “The performance, dummy.”

     “OH, oh. Um, hang on.” He opened the door of his building and made for the stairs. The elevators were usually crowded or broken or both; either way, with the line of people he saw streaming from the elevators, Finn didn’t want to deal with it. “Alright, what were we talking about?”

     “The play, Finn, the play. Remember, you’re almost-could-be-maybe-it-is date watching Poe?”

     “Yeah, that. D’you think I should go? It wouldn’t be weird, right?” Finn huffed – 1 flight of stairs down, 4 more to go. He had an unfortunate dorm on floor 5, and boy was he regretting not turning in those papers early enough over the summer. “It’s next Wednesday night, too.”

     Rey sighed. “He invited you Finn, I’m pretty sure not showing up would be weirder. Besides, I meant to tell you earlier but Ren’s making us train extra hard next week ‘cause the first game of the season is the Monday after and all that bullshit, so I can’t make it to dinner.” Finn could hear the same frown on his face forming on Rey’s. “So you should go. You’ve got the time, you could use a break.”

     “Damn, Ren’s really pushing to go to state this year huh? Oh god, hang on,” Finn said, putting his phone securely in his pocket. He took a few deep breaths before sprinting up the last set of stairs and slamming the door to the fifth floor open. Body bent and hands on knees, he took a couple of minutes to breathe before resuming his conversation with Rey.

     “Elevators broken again?”

     “Didn’t stick around to find out,” Finn said as he unlocked his door and shut it before collapsing onto the rock solid bed. “Alright, I’m going to the show then, Rey. Don’t let me talk myself out of this, you hear?”

     “Loud and clear, boss,” Rey giggled. “Listen, I’ve got two paragraphs left in this godawful paper. Call you in a little while?”

     “Go for it Rey. Tackle that paper to the ground, show it who’s boss!” Finn laughed as they both said their goodbyes and the two-hour long phone call came to an end. Finn grinned and covered his face with his hands, settling into content and delighted laughter.

     He had a date with Poe Dameron.


	4. Chapter 4

     To say Finn was nervous was an understatement.

     The past four and a half days had been torture. He’d barely been able to pay attention in his classes, his mind wandering in anticipation to the upcoming night. What would he wear? What time should he get there? Would Poe even see him?

     Rey had assured him over and over again that everything would turn out okay – she’d even picked out an outfit for him one night. “Makes you look more kissable,” she’d said, laughing at the height Finn’s eyebrows had risen to. Finn still had no idea how that worked, but whatever.

     He checked himself in the full-length mirror he had in his dorm one last time. He was clad in a navy blue tee, black jeans, and some old (but respectable, Rey had said) shoes he’d found in the back of his closet. It was quiet in the tiny hovel he temporarily called home, and Finn closed his eyes, breathing in the silence, soaking in the atmosphere. He didn’t have many friends, one could even go so far as to say that Rey was one of the only people he talked to – Poe was a completely new experience. Talking to him, meeting him, even looking at him made Finn feel things he’d never felt before, and if he was being honest with himself, it was a little out of comfort zone. This was the most excitement he’d felt in a long time, and who knew what the night had in store?

     One last look and Finn was out the door. On his way down the stairs, he found that Rey had sent him a “Have fun! Call me after, good luck!” accompanied by seven thumbs-ups and heart emojis. He laughed and shoved the phone in his pocket, making a mental reminder to check his phone more frequently.

     Downtown was farther than Finn’s walking distance, which meant taking the subway. The subway meant shady characters and unhygienic platforms, all of which Finn managed to avoid to some extent as he made his way onto the train headed towards the inner city (he saw a rat and he _might_ have yelped a little). The subway car was uncharacteristically empty, with just a few people sitting in every other row. There was one elderly woman who looked so old Finn had thought she was a ghost at first glance.

     His stop came all too quickly and suddenly he was out of the dark depths of the metro and into the dimming light of the city. There was a significantly larger crowd here, and for a moment Finn worried about finding Poe at all. He’d said the little square in front of an odd-sounding coffee shop and Isaac’s Bookstore, so Finn set out in search of it.

     He’d passed by four streets, made two turns, and went down one dead end before he found the plaza Poe had indicated. Finn couldn’t find Poe anywhere, so he plopped himself down on a bench and took a moment to enjoy the place. It was a roundish area, with trees encircling the part the cars weren’t driving down. This part of the city had cobblestones instead of asphalt, and Finn was reminded of the Italy and France that he’d only seen in movies. Each store in the area were unique and offered something different, from books to candles to antiques; the trees had decorated with strings of light that were slowly turning on as the sky went dark. If Find didn’t know any better, he would have said it was straight out of a movie.

     When 7 pm rolled around and Finn hadn’t seen any sign of Poe, he began to wonder if it was all a ruse and he’d made a mistake coming. Dejected and a little unsettled, he got up to go back when the sound of a guitar ripped through the square (circle?). People looked around in confusion, Finn included, as an unidentified electric guitar began playing a familiar song that Finn couldn’t quite place. A loud chatter began among the civilians when the center of the “stage” cleared and out came a line of people dressed in identical (or at least similar, Finn saw one dude with a different jacket). The guitar picked up and the people in the middle started singing The Time Warp.

     He felt a smile appearing on his face as he saw people in the crowd pointing excitedly and bobbing their heads. Finn scooted closer to the opening of the circle surrounding the performers. They were singing loudly so he really had no need to but hey, might as well. He recognized a few people from around campus, but the rest were blurs. Really good, synchronized, enthusiastic blurs, but blurs nonetheless. As they got to the chorus, Finn saw some people on the edges begin to dance along with the performers, and he felt his own feet begin to move. He shifted his gaze back to the line of singers just in time to see them part in the middle to let a new performer in.

     It took Finn a second to realize who it was and when he did, he was _floored._

     Poe Dameron slid out, hands out and hips swinging. He wore the tightest jeans Finn had ever seen, a shirt that hugged his frame _perfectly_ , and a tan jacket that fit just right, and Finn could barely contain himself. His hair was slicked back to match the other performers, and the fierce expression on his face as he sang made Finn feel tingly in all sorts of places. And _god_ , when Poe Dameron opened his mouth, Finn couldn’t tell if he was hearing singing or the voices of angels he was _fantastic_. Poe hadn’t spotted Finn yet, but Finn was glad ‘cause he couldn’t get his mouth to close even if he wanted to.

     The crowd began getting enthusiastic about the song, and as more and more people began dancing along, the performers began pulling people in to join them. Soon, the whole square was rocking out to the Time Warp, and just as Finn was about to get jostled just a step to the right, Poe caught sight of him and grabbed his arm, pulling them almost flush together. Finn was speechless as Poe smiled saucily at him and whirled him around as he sang the chorus.

     By now everyone in the square, including some of the employees from inside the stores, was doing the Time Warp across the cobblestones. It wasn’t organized or pretty in any sense, but the energy of the crowd ran through Finn like an electric current. There could’ve been a million people in the crowd but Finn couldn’t have cared less. All he saw, all he felt, all he knew at that moment was him and Poe, dancing at the center of the stage together, Poe’s beautiful voice singing to him as they jumped to the left and did the pelvic thrust side by side and face to face. Finn couldn’t look away from whatever was showing itself in Poe’s eyes, and Poe couldn’t stop staring at Finn. It was just them and they were the center of the universe as the entire square lit up in a dancing and singing frenzy.

     Somehow, at the end of the performance, Finn found himself pressed up against Poe, Poe’s hands on the small of his back and the back of his neck, Finn’s hands encircling Poe’s neck. As they stood there, panting from the exertion, the crowd around the cheered and some of the other performers were carried in the air by strong and happy arms, parading around the square and down the street. Neither Poe nor Finn noticed, too busy staring into each other’s eyes, their faces barely an inch apart. Poe’s eyes raked feverishly across Finn’s face, and for a good solid moment, Finn thought he was going to kiss him.

     In that moment though, Finn realized something that excited him and scared him and made him feel all sorts of emotions all at once. He didn’t know if it was the heat of the moment or not, but he _felt_ it, and that’s all that mattered to him.

     Finn was unexplainably, unbelievably in love with Poe Dameron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's most definitely not how that works, but let's just go with it 'cause that's how I want it to go, alright?
> 
> Also, I know I've been updating this every day, but school is starting back up tomorrow, so updates might slow down. They'll still be coming, but I guess just not as frequently? We'll see.
> 
> Anyways, thanks for the lovely comments and kudos! You guys are great, and I'm glad you're enjoying it! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO not dead or forgotten about this, I promise. So this chapter kind of sucks, but hey, have it anyways!

Finn blinked.

It sat there, staring at him. Mocking him, even. _What are you gonna do with me?_ It taunted.

Finn blinked again.

His phone rang, and he barely registered the tone before picking it up. “Hello,” he stated, still staring at the thing sitting across from him.

“What the hell, Finn! Where’ve you been? What happened?” Rey’s voice drifted through the speaker into Finn’s ear, waking him from his numb fervor. “Two days I’ve been sitting here, all by myself. No phone call, no message, no nothing! I try your friends’ phones, they haven’t seen you either. Have you checked your phone at all? I want you to actually listen to all the voicemails I’ve left you. What the hell!”

“Sorry, Rey,” Finn said softly. “I’ve been…well, I don’t know what I’ve been doing.”

He heard Rey take a breath. “Are you alright? I should’ve asked that first. What happened, Finn?” she asked a little softer this time. Finn ran a hand over his face, eyes going instantly back to the thing across from him.

“Rey, it was…I don’t know how to explain it, it was something else.”

“Start from the beginning then.”

_They stood there, breathing heavily in each other’s arms, both a little afraid to move. The sound of cheering and music swirled around them, but neither of them heard it and that was perfectly fine. Light and darkness spun around them as the moon took over the sky and the streetlights turned on. There was an intense atmosphere that circled just the two of them, and as their breathing slowed and matched the others, it sunk deep deep deep into their bones._

_Poe’s hand moved from his neck and hesitantly reached Finn’s cheek, his eyes betraying the uncertainty of the situation. Any wrong move could ruin everything and neither knew what would push the other too far. Finn’s breath caught in his throat as Poe moved closer, the intenseness in his eyes piercing his very soul. Their bodies moved of their own accord, slowly closing the little distance between them._

_And then Poe was gone. The rest of theater group bombarded their tiny bubble, laughing and shouting as they spun him away from the tender moment and carried him down the street. Finn saw fury and regret clash in Poe’s eyes as they locked eyes. Poe shouted something, and Finn caught one word before the entourage took him away into the far distance: pocket._

_Finn looked down and saw Poe’s jacket in his hands, taken from Poe’s very shoulders at some point during the course of the night. He looked back to where Poe had disappeared into the dark and saw nothing._

The jacket sat across from his bed now. Finn was unsure of what to do with it. The pocket had revealed a piece of paper with a hastily scribbled _Poe Dameron_ with a number that followed it –  Finn didn’t know what to do with that either.

Rey was silent as Finn finished his recounting of the night’s events. “I don’t know what to do Rey,” Finn said. He hadn’t touched the jacket after folding it and placing it on a chair, the paper laid carefully on his desk.

He heard her exhale. “Finn, why haven’t you called him yet? It sounded like everything went almost perfectly, why are you hesitating?”

Honestly, he didn’t know. Finn’s childhood had been, to say the least, a terrible one. His parents had never been affection to him – if anything, it had been a militaristic lifestyle. Go to school, come back, clean the house, socialize with only the people who are useful to you, talk to the more efficient people who cares if their personalities are cardboard boxes, wait for evasive parents to get home, repeat. When he’d finally left for college, Finn had thought that he was ready for the world, ready for actual, meaningful friendships, ready for love, ready for anything but his home life. Poe _had_ told him to call him, or at least text him, but why he hadn’t Finn had no idea. There was no doubt that he liked the guy, hell he might even love him – but it was that intensity that scared him a little. Sure, Finn had been on dates every now and then, even gone farther with some people, but this? These feelings were completely new to him, and he had no idea what to do about them. Poe was different, he was wonderful he was fantastic he was special…what happened if Finn messed it up?

He voiced these concerns to Rey, and she huffed. “I understand Finn, but you’re messing it up more by _not_ talking to him. Leaving him in the dark for two whole days does terrible things for a relationship, go talk to him! What’s the worst that could happen? Before you start protesting,” she said, sensing Finn open his mouth to argue, “You can start by returning his jacket. Start with that and go from there, alright? Promise me you’ll do it today, sitting in your room for two days is good for no one.”

“…Okay.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Good. Now go and get your man Finn. I expect details later today, alright?”

Finn sighed, breathing out the air that had been trapped inside of him for a good long while. He could – should – would do it.

 

~

Finn slid into a seat, shaking his head as the bar tender asked if he wanted anything. Poe had suggested they meet at Starkiller Bar after Poe’s shift was over. Something about not wanting the smell of coffee grinds and spoiled milk all over them, but Finn had barely heard him properly on account of the blood rushing through his head.

He’d carefully folded and stored Poe’s jacket in the folds of his own. Taking it out, he stared long and hard at it in an effort to avoid the whispering voices he heard from the drunk people around him. He was like a duck in a tree, he didn’t belong in a bar, at least not now not when he was more nervous than a cow about to be –

“Finn? Buddy, hey!”

Poe Dameron took a seat across from him, nodding to the bar tender. He looked back and smiled at Finn, a brilliant smile that sent shivers down Finn’s spine. He still saw the cautious look in his eyes, the hesitancy that he didn’t want the world to notice. Finn’s stomach dropped a little.

“Haven’t seen you in a while, everything alright?” Poe asked.

“Yeah, everything’s good. Well not great, but good enough, you know? Haven’t been swarmed by bees yet, which is cool.” Bees? Bees?!?!

Poe laughed, the tension slowly leaving him. “Avoiding bee swarms are good, yes. So, um, about – wait.” He pointed to Finn’s hands. “Is that my jacket?”

Finn looked down. “Yes! Yes it’s your jacket, I thought you might want it back, it’s a pretty nice jacket if I do say so myself. Speaking of the jacket,” Finn said, handing the jacket back to Poe. He sighed. “Poe, I’m just really sorry about these past two days. I’m a terrible person and you’re a really nice guy – “

“Wait, you’re not breaking up with me are you?” Poe laughed lightly, but Finn saw the hurt in his eyes.

“No no no no no, no. No. No I would never Poe no wait listen. Look, I like you. I mean I really _really_ like you. It’s just,” Finn waived his hands in helplessness. “This is new for me! Not just you, I mean everything. My life hasn’t been the most…passionate, and when I see you there’s feelings in me that I never knew existed before. Honestly, it scares me a little. It scares me a lot, actually. Rey’s been my best friend for a long time now, but you? Poe, you’re different. You’re so new, you’re so exhilarating. You’re happiness and excitement and love and joy all wrapped up into one, and I just…I’m afraid I’m going to mess it up. I don’t want to, I really don’t want to, and I guess I’ve been hiding myself away for the past couple of days because of that, which, I’ll admit, is the worst way to do with it, but I – “

Finn was cut off by a sudden pair of lips on his, cutting his speech off mid-word. It surprised him, to say nonetheless (did he squawk a little? Maybe), but it was wet and warm and welcome. Poe pulled away, and Finn’s face maintained its wide-eyed mouth-slightly-open look.

Poe laughed. “Not gonna lie, I’ve been wanting to do that since I saw you at the coffee shop. You know, Finn,” he said, taking one of Finn’s hands into his own. “You could’ve just told me that. You didn’t have to leave me in the dark for two days, you know.”

“Oh god, I’m so sorry about that, I really really am.”

“You’ve more than made up for it, trust me. Did you know you’re very adorable when you’re concerned and rambling?”

“Did you know you’re an excellent kisser and have the best pair of lips in town?”

“Why Finn, just how many lips have you kissed?” Poe put his hand over his heart, mocking a shocked expression.

Finn grinned. “I plan to make it only one in the future. Listen,” he said. “I really am sorry about everything. Are you free tonight? There’s this Greek restaurant I’ve been eyeing for a while now.”

“Finn, for you, my calendar is wide open.”

They kissed again, smiles creeping up on both of their faces.      


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating for so long, but I'm back.

                Finn loved the rain.

                He loved the way it sounded on the roof, loved the smell that came right before the sky opened up, loved the way it made time stop for a while. There was nothing he loved more than the rain.

                Except, maybe, the man sitting across the table from him.

                They were out on an impromptu date, set with soft music, coffee, and rain to hold them in the café for a while. It was after hours at BB-8’s Coffee, and Finn had stopped by right before closing time to see the best man in town – just like he’d been doing every day for the past month. Was that much coffee and sweets bad for him? Probably definitely. Did he care? Not one bit.

                Poe Dameron dramatically recounted his day, sparing no details out of the story. From the first customer of the day to the old woman who’d come in looking for nails, Poe’s hands flew up and down as the story spilled from his lips. Finn sipped his coffee and smiled, enjoying the sound of Poe’s voice and story.

                “I’m telling you Finn, there is no crazier café out there than this one,” Poe laughed, drinking the last sip of his drink. “How’s your day been? You didn’t have any classes today did you?”

                “Nah, it’s my day off today. It was relaxing, actually! I finished reading that book you lent me – which was excellent by the way, the ending blew my mind!” Finn imitated an explosion near his head and Poe laughed. “I watched Rey’s rugby practice after lunch and headed over here – basically one of the most relaxing days of my life. I really think the team will win championships this year, don’t you? Ren’s been pushing them to the max and Rey’s been putting in the extra hours, I don’t see how they couldn’t destroy everyone else.”

                “The men’s team hasn’t been spared either, I’ve got a friend on the team who’s sore every damn day,” Poe said. “Ren does NOT let up. I wanna see his face if they don’t win, that would be a sight!” They launched into a further discussion of the team’s strategies and how tomato-like Kylo Ren would look if they lost.

                Before they knew it, two hours had passed, and they left the shop. Poe walked Finn back to his dorm, holding his hand the whole way. The two had such heart-eyes, if Cupid had shot them with an arrow the only thing that would’ve changed would be the manifestation of actual hearts floating around them as they walked. They reached the door of Finn’s building far too soon, and both were far too reluctant to leave the other’s company.

                “Hey, out of curiosity and for no particular reason whatsoever,” Poe asked, “where will you be around, say 2:30ish tomorrow? Asking for a friend, you understand.”

                Finn raised an eyebrow at him. “I’ll be in Professor Solo’s engineering class. Who is this friend and why does he want to know?”

                “Oh, no reason at all,” Poe responded, slowly wrapping his arms around Finn’s waist.

                “Alright, whatever you say.” Finn smiled, putting his arms around Poe’s neck and pulling him closer. “You should really watch out for these friends, they could steal me away from you.”

                “Would you go with them?”

                Finn closed the extremely small gap between them, and they kissed with enough passion that Poe had his answer. The kiss ended when they both threatened to turn blue from lack of air, and Poe rested his forehead on Finn’s.

                “Good night, Finn.”

                “Good night, Poe Dameron.”

                They kissed three more times before Poe brought himself to pull away from their embrace. Finn stayed by the door and watched Poe walk away, a smile big and bright on both of their faces.

 

~

                As interesting as Professor Phasma was, she was nothing compared to Professor Solo. Where Phasma was strict as hell, Solo was willing to let certain things slide; while Phasma hated something that resembled a smile, Solo enjoyed the occasional joke even if he did seem a bit on the gruff side. Phasma seemed to attempt to bore her students to death, Solo invigorated an underlying passion for engineering that even a literature student didn’t know they had.

                Finn loved being in the class, and as he sat there scribbling notes into his overflowing notebook, he sincerely thought about switching majors to engineering. It was interesting enough, and he could probably thoroughly understand String Theory if Solo was the one teaching it to him. Besides, Poe was an engineering major, he could help him with homework and such. Which would mean study sessions, which would lead to late nights, which would lead to sessions that really wouldn’t involve studying, which would lead to –

                Finn shook his head and forced himself to pay attention to the lesson. The professor was recounting an expedition he’d taken with his wife Leia, and he was reaching a particularly interesting turn of the story when the door burst open and the room fell silent.

                Solo muttered something under his breath, but it was drowned out by the incoming flow of music. The students in the room, Finn included, looked at each other with wide eyes as a steady flow of men streamed into the room with the grace of a swan. They parted into two lines, and each line made their way up the two aisles of the room. It became increasingly clear as the men passed Finn that the music was not coming from an outside source but rather from the men themselves. Finn squinted suspiciously at them, and as they went past him, he realized he recognized a few of them. From a night almost a month ago. In a well-lit populated area. Much like this one.

                It was the Resistance, and Finn could do nothing about it but let his heart race. He dared to check the time before completely succumbing to the grin that was beginning to form. 2 damn 30.

                The lights flickered and whispers began floating around the room as the tune became more recognizable. One of the performers stepped forward and began singing, the Little Mermaid’s Kiss the Girl filling the room. Finn couldn’t see Poe among the line of performers, which could only me –

                The door swung open again, and in came Poe Dameron in the hottest Prince Eric costume that Finn had ever seen. Poe caught Finn’s eye from the across the room and winked, laughing slightly as Finn’s jaw dropped lower.

                Prince Eric moved through the room, winking and flirting slightly (not enough to make Finn’s blood boil) at both men and women alike. The song continued as Poe slowly made his way up to Finn’s seat. The singer was excellent and sounded exactly like Sebastian, but Finn couldn’t have cared less as Poe’s half-buttoned, flowing white shirt and _incredibly_ tight pants made his way towards him.

                Four rows before Finn’s, the song shifted towards Eric guessing Ariel’s name, and Poe did just that.

                “You know, I feel bad not knowing any of your names. Maybe I could guess it,” Poe proclaimed, stopping at the first girl closest to him. “Mildred?” The girl frowned and shook her head.

                Poe moved up an aisle and pointed to another girl. “Diana?” She blushed furiously and whispered a quiet ‘no’.

                He moved another aisle, one row below Finn. “Rachel?” The girl he had pointed to began nodding her head, and Poe’s face took on a panicked expression as he hurriedly made his way to Finn’s row. Finn, who conveniently had an aisle seat, grinned at the whole exchange.

                “Let’s see.” Poe scanned the row of students with a look of intense concentration. Finn felt the girl next to him shift, and he was briefly tempted to elbow the heart eyes off of her face. Poe winked at her briefly before finally looking at Finn. He pointed at him. “Ariel?”

                Finn grinned, bigger and brighter than before, and Poe matched his smile. “Ariel! That’s a beautiful name,” Poe said as he bent closer to Finn until he was whispering in his ear. “A beautiful name for a beautiful man.”

                Finn felt an arm under his legs and another bracing his back, and before he could react, Poe lifted him and began carrying him down the steps, joining the other Resistance members in the rest of the song. Finn wrapped his arms around Poe’s neck and didn’t bother to hide his laughter because _Poe Dameron was carrying down an aisle, he was in Poe’s arms holy hell his arms are really nice, Poe sings really well also those pants suit him_ really _well, should I tell him that? I’ll tell him that when he puts me down which I hope is never goddamn_

                Poe beamed down at him as the song wound down to an end, and Finn couldn’t tear his eyes away. Here was Poe, wonderful beautiful Poe, who’d come into his life out of nowhere and made it so much more than he could ever have imagined. Here was Poe, who was an extraordinary man who did extraordinary things like interrupt Han freakin’ Solo’s class (Finn swore on his life that he saw the professor wink at them as they passed his desk) and literally sweep him off his feet. Here was Poe, who was one of the best things that could have ever happened to Finn, and Finn couldn’t believe it.

                Poe, as if sensing this, leaned towards him, and Finn met him halfway for a kiss. They both smiled as they heard the Resistance erupt in cheers, the spell of the song broken, followed soon by the cheers of the rest of the class as Solo announced class dismissed.

                Finn and Poe led the way as the class followed them out the door, Finn still in Poe’s arms, and Finn wouldn’t have had it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's be honest: Poe would totally make a GREAT Prince Eric, and he could totally carry Finn (totally, without a doubt). But that's that, I guess. I hope the ending is what you thought it would be. Thanks for sticking around for the whole thing, I really do appreciate it. See you guys next fic :)


End file.
